Eric Burdon

A key figure in the British Invasion, R&B scene of the 1960s, Eric Burdon was the Newcastle lad with a searing, gritty voice who fronted The Animals and scored the classic hit House Of The Rising Sun, before experimenting with Latin, jazz and African sounds with Los Angeles funk rockers War. Leaving War in 1971, he teamed up with American blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon for a show at San Quentin Prison and the soulful, underrated album Guilty! (1971), but his own project - The Eric Burdon Band - failed to take off. Although heavily steeped in the blues rock tradition, Burdon's solo records Survivor (1977), Darkness Darkness (1980) and I Used To Be An Animal (1988) continued to dabble in various genres, including funk, disco and electronica, before he returned to his roots with the traditional R&B album Soul Of A Man (2006). Still performing in his 70s, Burdon teamed up with The Greenhornes, released his 10th solo album 'Til Your River Runs Dry in 2013, and is still regarded as one of the UK's great rock singers.